The Arab Democratic Party ( he, translit=Miflaga Demokratit Aravit, מפלגה דמוקרטית ערבית; ar, ألحزب الديمقراطي العربي, translit=al-Hizb al-Dimuqrati al-Arabi), commonly known in Israel by its Hebrew acronym Mada (מד"ע), is a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. Between the mid-1990s and 2012 it was a faction within the

United Arab List The United Arab List ( he, הַרְשִׁימָה הַעֲרָבִית הַמְאוּחֶדֶת, ''HaReshima HaAravit HaMe'uhedet''; ar, القائمة العربية الموحدة, ''al-Qā'ima al-'Arabiyya al-Muwaḥḥada''), commonly kn ...

Background

The party was formed on 15 February 1988, towards the end of the term of the eleventh Knesset, when

Abdulwahab Darawshe Abdulwahab Darawshe ( ar, عبد الوهاب دراوشة, he, עבד-אלוהאב דראושה; born 12 October 1943) is an Israeli Arab former politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment and the Arab Democratic Party b ...

broke away from the

Alignment Alignment may refer to: Archaeology * Alignment (archaeology), a co-linear arrangement of features or structures with external landmarks * Stone alignment, a linear arrangement of upright, parallel megalithic standing stones Biology * Structu ...

to create his own faction in protest at the party's policy on the

First Intifada The First Intifada, or First Palestinian Intifada (also known simply as the intifada or intifadah),The word ''intifada'' () is an Arabic word meaning "uprising". Its strict Arabic transliteration is '. was a sustained series of Palestinian ...

. At the time of its founding, the party was the only solely

Israeli Arab The Arab citizens of Israel are the largest ethnic minority in the country. They comprise a hybrid community of Israeli citizens with a heritage of Palestinian citizenship, mixed religions (Muslim, Christian or Druze), bilingual in Arabic an ...

faction in the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

(although the

Progressive List for Peace The Progressive List for Peace ( he, הרשימה המתקדמת לשלום, ''HaReshima HaMitkademet LeShalom'', ar, القائمة التقدمية للسلام) was a left-wing political party in Israel. The party was formed from an alliance ...

's only MK was an Israeli Arab, the party also had

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish membership), and the first since the demise of the original United Arab List in the 1981 elections. In the 1988 elections the party just crossed the

electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...

of 1%, winning 1.2% of the vote and one seat, taken by Darawshe, and was again the only Israeli-Arab party to win a seat. The 1992 elections saw the party win two seats, though it remained the only Israeli Arab party with parliamentary representation. For the 1996 elections, the party ran in an alliance with the new

under the name Mada-Ra'am (the acronyms of each party). The alliance was successful, winning two seats. The party was also joined in the Knesset by a new Israeli Arab party, Balad, which had run in an alliance with

Hadash Hadash ( he, חד״ש, lit=New), an acronym for ''HaHazit HaDemokratit LeShalom uLeShivion'' ( he, הַחֲזִית הַדֶּמוֹקְרָטִית לְשָׁלוֹם וּלְשִׁוְיוֹן, lit=The Democratic Front for Peace and Equalit ...

. After the 1996 elections, the party became a faction within the United Arab List, a position it retained until

Taleb el-Sana Taleb el-Sana ( ar, طلب الصانع, he, טלב אלצאנע, born 25 December 1960), sometimes spelled Talab al-Sana or variations thereof, is an Israeli Arab Bedouin politician and lawyer. He was the longest serving Arab Member of the Kn ...

broke away from the United Arab List in December 2012. The party contested the

2015 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in the year 2015. Africa * 2015 Beninese parliamentary election 26 April 2015 * 2015 Burkinabé general election 29 November 2015 * 2015 Burundian legislative election 29 June 2015 * 2015 Burun ...

as part of the Arab List, an alliance with the Arab National Party headed by

Muhamad Kanan Muhamad Kanan ( ar, محمّد كنعان; he, מוחמד כנעאן, born 17 October 1955) is an Israeli Arab politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the United Arab List and the Arab National Party between 1999 and 2003. Biograph ...

. The alliance received just 4,301 votes (0.11%), failing to win a seat. It submitted a candidate list for the

2021 elections Many elections occurred in 2021. The National Democratic Institute maintains calendar of elections around the world * 2021 United Nations Security Council election * 2021 national electoral calendar * 2021 local electoral calendar Africa * 2021 ...

under the name Ma'an – Together for a New Era, although it later withdrew from the elections and endorsed the

Joint List The Joint List ( ar, القائمة المشتركة, ''al-Qa'imah al-Mushtarakah'', he, הָרְשִׁימָה הַמְּשֻׁתֶּפֶת, ''HaReshima HaMeshutefet'') was a political alliance of four of the Arab-Israeli, Arab-majority politi ...

, which it also committed to joining.

References

External links

Party history
Knesset website
Mada-Ra'am
Knesset website {{Authority control Political parties in Israel 1988 establishments in Israel Arab political parties in Israel Political parties established in 1988